Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Takes $871,000 Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $871,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.77.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,312,741. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $135.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $131.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.54. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 30.77%.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.